Is Germany a top education destination among Indian students?

In 2008-09 there were about 3,500 Indian students studying in Germany. Five years later, in 2013-14, the number almost tripled to 9,600.

According to DAAD, one of the largest funding organisations in the world supporting international exchange of students and scholars showed that there was a 25.6% rise in Indian students in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12.

Factors like better immigration rules that facilitate students to look for employment compared to other regions in Europe and US, and the lower costs of education, are the reasons for rise in the population of Indian students in Germany.

Career opportunities is one of the main reasons for Indian students going to Germany. DAAD said the German parliament has implemented an European Union (EU) Blue Card and a new unlimited work and residence permit to grant foreign graduates of German universities unrestricted access to the job market.

"In Germany, education is heavily subsidised by the state and, therefore, most of the institutions of higher education charge no or very little tuition fee - to the tune of euro 500 per semester," said DAAD in response to queries sent. DAAD also offers a number of scholarships for students with excellent academic record.

DAAD said the most popular course among Indian students are the programmes in the STEM subject fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), followed by economics, law and social sciences. Further, Indian students make up for one of the largest foreign doctoral candidates in the country, just behind China.